


Green

by mylittlecthulhu (marineko)



Series: Red Shift [2]
Category: Arashi (Band), Johnny's Entertainment
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-24
Updated: 2012-03-24
Packaged: 2017-10-24 00:12:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 20,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/256670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marineko/pseuds/mylittlecthulhu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>RedShift AU. Nino and Aiba's friendship is thrown in a loop when Nino starts hanging out with someone he wouldn't even introduce to Aiba.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The alternate title for this is "Apastron."

> Apastron: The point of greatest separation of two stars, such as in a binary star system. [[Source](http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy_glossary.html)]

Aiba was feeling curious, dejected, and annoyed with Nino of late. When his best friend applied for and was accepted for a different high school, Aiba didn’t think it would change their friendship much. After all, Nino had promised as much, and since they lived right across from each other, they could see each other any time they wanted.

For the first few months in high school at least, things seemed normal enough. Aiba had made a lot of new friends at school, but he had mostly hung out with Suzuki and Sugimoto, who were in a band with him and Nino. After school, he would wait for Nino (whose school was a bit further away) and they would tell each other about their day as they work on their respective homework. When they were done, they would play video games or practise, or work together on new songs for their band. On weekends they had “proper” band practise with Suzuki and Sugimoto, after which all of them would go out together. Basically, it was almost like junior high, except for the fact that Aiba couldn’t see Nino at school.

Lately, though, Aiba saw Nino less and less. They still saw each other most days of the week, but the instances when Nino asked Aiba not to come over was increasing. His excuses were always a little suspect, but Aiba didn’t say anything. Normally, he wouldn’t mind so much, but the fact that Nino was so close-mouthed and evasive about it had started to bother Aiba.

“Nino?” he asked one day, after band practise.

“Yeah?”

“How was your day, yesterday?”

Nino shrugged. “Uneventful, I guess. Finally finished the essay I had due next week.”

“The English one?”

“Yeah.”

“You usually don’t do your English homework until the night before it’s due!”

Nino looked uncomfortable. “I had some help, so I finished it faster.”

“Really? Who helped?” Aiba asked, curious. Throughout junior high, he had never known Nino to approach a classmate for help – or approach a classmate at all, really. He had friends, but it was usually they who sought Nino out rather than the other way round.

“Just someone at school.” Nino answered, a little irate. “I can’t really hang out with you guys tonight, so I’ll see you tomorrow morning, okay?”

Aiba wanted to ask why Nino wanted to leave early, but when he saw that Nino wasn’t in the mood to answer any more questions, he let it go. He turned to Suzuki a little mournfully when Nino left, not saying a word.

Suzuki just grinned at Aiba, and exchanged a knowing look with Sugimoto. “It must be  _that_ ,” he said.

“Yup, it must be,” Sugimoto answered, smiling back.

“What? What is it?” Aiba asked.

“Haven’t you noticed that Ninomiya-kun had been very distracted the past few weeks?” Suzuki asked him back.

“Yeah, and his song-writing is improving, too. I mean, he always had this interesting sense when it comes to song-writing, but lately that ‘sense’ is changing, and is becoming even more interesting,” Sugimoto added.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Aiba wondered.

“Don’t you get it?” Sugimoto replied. “He must’ve met someone, and it’s this person who’s been influencing all these changes.”

Suzuki nodded sagely in agreement.

“Eh?” Aiba’s eyes widened.  _He must’ve met someone… meaning... a girl?_  “Ehh?” he said again.

Both Suzuki and Sugimoto laughed, as they finished packing and got ready to leave. Sugimoto ruffled Aiba’s hair, and said, “Ninomiya-kun’s growing up, that’s all.”

“Are you having dinner with us, Masaki-kun?” Suzuki asked.

Aiba nodded, then shook his head. “I don’t know…”

“Come on, let’s go out, let’s go out,” Suzuki said cheerily. “My girlfriend’s band is performing at the Warehouse so we can check them out after dinner. Maybe she’ll introduce you to some of her friends,” he continued with a grin.

“That’s okay…” Aiba said, uneasy. He hadn’t even thought about wanting to start dating, despite the fact that most of his classmates now are busy chasing after girls. He supposed it must be because he was so absorbed with music; he spent most of his time at home with his guitar, which made his mother pretty mad at him sometimes. He had even taught Yuu-chan, his brother, to play simple songs, and had started to learn playing bass from Suzuki. “I wouldn’t mind seeing Ai-chan play, though,” he said, remembering that Suzuki had told him that his girlfriend was an even better bassist than him.

“So we’re going, then,” Sugimoto said. “Maybe Ai-chan could introduce someone to  _me_ , since Masaki’s too busy worrying over his Nino.”

Suzuki snickered. “That’s true. The two of you are practically a couple.”

Aiba just stuck a tongue out at him, but his friends were already pushing him out of the studio door. “Let’s go before my brother charges us for another hour,” Suzuki said. 

As they left, Aiba thought about their conversation. It was true that he and Nino spent a lot of time together, he supposed. Maybe more than most friends do, but they have practically grown up together, so they were almost like brothers. It was normal that they tend to gravitate towards each other, wasn’t it?

He also thought about Nino spending more time with girls. Aiba would understand if Nino had met a girl, and if he started dating, so why would his best friend keep it a secret? And if a girl was the cause of the changes in Nino, then would Nino no longer need Aiba in the future? Aiba’s thoughts turned darker and gloomier as he followed Suzuki and Sugimoto out to their favourite café.


	2. Chapter 2

Aiba was acting weird, Nino decided. All day he was either staring into space, contemplating something in silence, which was unlike him, or he was more inquisitive than usual, and kept trying to grill Nino on his whereabouts during the last week. To top it all off, Aiba was also asking weird questions, like what kind of girls Nino liked, and what kind of things Nino liked to do on dates.

“Why are you asking me all these stuff?” Nino finally asked his best friend, piqued.

Aiba just looked at him with that cute lost puppy expression he had honed down to an art, and answered, “well, Suzuki is dating Ai-chan and Sugimoto said that he really liked Ai-chan’s friend, who frankly enough I found  _just a little bit_  scary with that bondage gear of hers. Then I wondered, what kind of girl does Nino like? It’ll be a problem if it’s someone I found scary, don’t you think? You don't like girls who wear those bondage stuff, do you, Nino?” 

Nino frowned, and wondered if their band mates were to blame for his sudden descent into the twilight zone. “I don’t know,” he finally answered. “I never really thought about it, I guess.”

Aiba, who was leaning against Nino at the time, pouted and straightened up. “Don’t tell me if you don’t want to, then,” he said.

“What? What?” Nino asked, frustrated. “You were the one who brought up the subject,” he started to say, before a thought occurred to him. He narrowed his eyes at Aiba and asked, “is there a girl you like in school or something?”

The question threw Aiba off, and he forgot about wanting to get Nino to open up about his girlfriend. “Eh?” He laughed. “Are you kidding?”

“Idiot,” Nino muttered, annoyed that he was actually participating in the conversation. This one would definitely win a place in his ‘surreal conversations with Aiba’ wall of fame, which included one where Aiba wondered what having to wear a bra all the time felt like, and one where Aiba asked him why, despite the many flavours of canned and boxed drinks out there, there isn’t a natto-flavoured drink. (Nino thought that there probably was one, but he didn't mention it to Aiba, since he didn't want Aiba to research it and start a quest to search for the drink.) Nino was trying to think of a way to change the subject, when his cellphone rang. With a relieved smile, he looked at the caller ID. “I’ll take this outside,” he told Aiba, and left.

})i({

The next day, Nino had called to tell Aiba that he was busy after school, and couldn’t meet up. Aiba didn’t mind, as he had a lot of homework to do that day. He was in the middle of a math question when he happened to look out his window, and saw Nino’s figure entering the house across the street.  _Nino’s back from school, huh_ , Aiba thought absently, turning back to his homework, but he couldn’t concentrate. He turned back to the window, and pulled out an old pair of binoculars from his desk drawer. It was from the brief bird-watching phase he and Nino got into in junior high, although he had to admit that it had other uses.

Aiba peered through the binoculars, and noticed that there was an extra pair of shoes, laid faced out in front of Nino’s door. Curious, he placed the binoculars back into the drawer, and decided to walk over.

He was about to knock on Nino’s front door when he paused, and lowered his hands. He could hear Nino’s acoustic guitar. They must be in the living room, Aiba supposed. He thought of peering into the living room window, but decided against it. Nino would probably be pissed if he saw him. So Aiba raised his hands again and knocked on the door.

He heard the music stop, and put on his best puppy dog expression (so named by Nino; Aiba just went along with it) when Nino opened the door. It was lost on his friend, however. Nino just scowled and said, “I thought I told you I’m busy today.”

“I know!” Aiba said in a cheerful voice. “I just wanted to ask you about math stuff, but then I heard your guitar. Is that a new song?” He looked down and pretended to notice the other pair of shoes for the first time. “Oh, do you have company?”

Nino glared at him and opened the door wider to let Aiba in. “Where’s your math book?” he asked.

“It’s right – oh, I forgot to bring it?” Aiba answered sheepishly.

“Geez,” Nino said, rolling his eyes. “Go and get your book, then.”

Aiba didn’t move.

“What?” Nino asked.

Aiba was looking at the figure that had come behind Nino. He blinked. “It’s a boy,” he said blankly.

Nino looked behind him to see what Aiba was talking about, and turned back to Aiba. “Congratulations, you can tell whether a person is a boy or a girl,” he said drily. “Either get your book or come in, Aiba.”

The boy behind Nino smiled when he made the ‘boy’ comment, and Aiba felt a tug in his chest. His face was flushed as he walked into Nino’s house. “I thought you were with a girl,” he said in explanation.

“Why’d you think that?”

“Well, you’ve been so secretive and all, so Suzuki and Sugimoto said you must be dating…”

Suddenly Aiba’s past behaviour started to make sense to Nino. He laughed. “You’re really an idiot,” he said affectionately. “Sho, this is Aiba Masaki, my best friend,” he said to the other boy. “Aiba, this is Sakurai Sho. He’s my classmate from school.” 

“Wow, so you’re his classmate?” Aiba asked the other boy. “It’s really rare for Nino to make a friend, and I don’t think he’s ever invited anyone else here before!”

"Hey, don't talk as if I'm anti-social," Nino interjected, "because I'm not."

“We’ve had to work on a couple of class projects together,” Sho said, “so I’ve been here a few times already.”

Aiba turned to Nino with a hurt look. “And you didn’t even bother to introduce me before this?”

“Stupid! Why should I introduce you? It’s not like we’re dating or anything!” Nino retorted, a little flustered. He didn’t know why he didn’t want Aiba and Sho to meet; he just knew that the idea bothered him. He looked to Sho for help, but was met with a small smirk. “What?” he asked Sho.

“The two of you are really interesting,” Sho said, trying not to laugh at how defensive Nino looked, and how red Aiba was.  _You would think that they’re a couple and Kazunari was caught cheating on his boyfriend,_  he thought with amusement. 

Nino shot a glare at his friend, and changed the subject. “Anyway,” he told Aiba, “Sho studied classical piano so he’s been teaching me music theory.”

Aiba’s eyes widened. “That’s why your new songs are different, huh?” he asked. “Maybe you could teach me too, Sakurai-kun!” He looked at Sho so appealingly that the other boy was a little taken aback.

“Uh… sure,” Sho answered hesitantly. His initial amusement gone, Sho had retreated back into politeness. “You could just call me Sho,” he told Aiba.

“Really?” Aiba’s smile became brighter, if such a thing was even possible. “You could call me Masaki then… wait, no, you can call me Aiba like Nino does, that’s even ‘more special’, right, Nino? Since Nino have acknowledged you as a friend then I bet we will get along very well, too. And you could call Nino ‘Nino’ like I do, and you could teach us music theory and see our band play this weekend and we’ll be great friends…”

“Well, Kazunari-kun didn’t tell me about –”

“No, you can call him Nino now! Oh, Sho-chan, were you the one who helped Nino with his English homework, too? Because I could use some help also, you know, and…”

Sho inched closer to Nino, whispering, “does he have an off button? And I didn’t say he could call me  _-chan_ …”

Nino groaned. Now he remembered why he hadn’t wanted his two friends to meet.


	3. Chapter 3

“So, what do you think? Were we great or what?” Aiba asked as he settled into the rounded booth with Nino, Suzuki and Sho. Sugimoto had something to do after their live, and didn’t go out with the rest of them. Their band had only played a set of three songs, and were one of the five bands bands that played at the Warehouse that night.

“Your music is definitely interesting,” Sho said in agreement. “Do you write all the songs, Nino?” It took some time, but Aiba had managed to get Sho to call Nino by his nickname after all.

Nino nodded. “Mostly. Some of them, I actually work on with Aiba. The lyrics aren’t very good, I know; if you like any of them, they’re probably by Suzuki here,” Nino said as he gestured towards their bassist. “He reads a lot of books and poetry, that kind of stuff, and writes pretty decent lyrics. But it’s really hard to get him to do it!”

“I told you, just because I love to read doesn’t mean I like writing,” Suzuki protested. “Plus, you’re getting better at it and Aiba’s lyrics are... well...” he paused, trying to think of how to describe it, before settling on “..unique.”

“I guess, if by unique you mean it reads like it was written by someone on crack,” Nino replied in a serious tone, but with a smile on his lips.

“Hey, I object to that!” Aiba exclaimed, poking Nino in the ribs. Ticklish, the smaller boy doubled up and tried to push away Aiba’s hands at the same time. It only made Aiba start tickling him in earnest, causing Nino to giggle uncontrollably and gasp out, “Sho, help me out, damn it!”

Sho, who was on the other side of Aiba, hesitated, but as Suzuki was too busy laughing at the two he finally leaned over to pull Aiba back. “Okay, okay, I’m stopping now,” Aiba said, still laughing while Nino straightened up. “You can let go of me now, Sho-chan,” he said, as Sho’s arms was still around his waist.

“Be careful; he’ll turn on you next,” Nino warned teasingly.

“Then maybe I shouldn’t let go,” Sho said, imitating Nino’s tone. “Or should I attack first?” His hold on Aiba tightened, as he and Nino grinned mischievously at each other over Aiba’s head.

“That’s not fair,” Aiba said, pouting. “You guys can’t gang up on me.”

“Why not?” Nino asked, a wicked glint in his eyes. “You have Suzuki on your side.”

“I think I prefer to sit this one out and watch,” Suzuki said in amusement.

Aiba squirmed, and turned to his side so that he could look pleadingly at Sho. “Truce?”

Their eyes met and held for a moment, and Aiba swallowed as the playfulness in Sho’s eyes melted away. Aiba opened his mouth to speak again, but nothing came out.

“Excuse me...” a soft voice interrupted.

Both of them turned to face the waitress, who was watching them nervously. “Are you ready to order?” she asked.

Aiba coughed. “How long have you been there?” he asked the waitress. Sho let go of him, and Nino snickered.

“From when you started tickling Ninomiya,” Suzuki answered in a droll voice.

“Oh. Sorry about that,” Aiba said, flushed with embarrassment. He recovered quickly, though, and flashed a quick smile at the waitress as he said, “I’d like the pasta arabiata, please, and these two guys here will have the gratin, the one with lots of mushrooms and cheese. And this guy,” he continued, pointing at Nino, “will like the cheapest thing on the menu. Lemon tea for all of us.”

The waitress took down the order, thanked them, and left. Everyone turned to Aiba.

“What?” he asked them.

“Nobody told you what we wanted to order. You just ordered for us,” Nino said accusingly.

“Eh? I thought that’s what you wanted?” Aiba asked innocently. “After all, you didn’t object or anything.”

“It’s fine,” Nino answered grumpily. “Just remember to ask next time.”

Aiba just nodded cheerfully and started telling them funny things that happened in his school. As they exchanged stories, the atmosphere in the group turned back to normal and soon they were all chatting happily. Aiba looked around at his friends and felt thankful that he was lucky enough to know them, and ignored the strange feeling in his stomach. I must be hungrier than I thought, he told himself.

He didn’t look in Sho’s direction again, so he didn’t see the thoughtful way Nino’s new friend was looking at him.

})i({

 

“Hey, Nino?”

Aiba and Nino were watching an old drama re-run. It was one of those rare days when both of them were caught up with their assignments, and neither felt like doing anything in particular, so they just lazed around Nino’s house. Yukie, Nino’s sister, was studying for an exam, and his mother was out for the day.

Nino didn’t answer.

“Why didn’t you want me to meet Sho-chan at first?” Aiba asked. He hadn’t shown it, but the question had been at the back of his head for some time.

Nino sighed, and looked at his best friend. “You really want to know?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“You’re not going to like the answer.”

“It’s okay,” Aiba insisted. “I just want to know.”

“It has nothing to do with you, really,” Nino said. “But have you noticed how we’re always, always together?”

“Of course,” Aiba answered simply. “You’re my best friend.”

“Yeah, but it’s like you said the other day. I need other friends,” Nino said. “That’s one of the reasons I applied to go to a different school. You’re always going to be my best friend, but sometimes I need a break from that. I need to find out who I am, when I’m not your best friend.”

Aiba frowned, thinking about Nino’s answer. “I don’t really get it,” he said. “You want a break... you mean from being friends? I’m fine with things being the way it is.”

Nino smiled. “Of course you are.” He paused, before asking, “what club are you in now, at school?”

“Hmm? Oh, music club, with Suzuki-kun. You know that already. Sugimoto didn’t want to join, though, because the club meetings coincide with the archery club, which he’s in. You’ll like our music club, Nino. The senpais in the club are really funny, but of course, that means we fool around most of the time rather than do anything seriously, but then again -”

“What if we went to the same school, and I didn’t want to join the music club?” Nino asked, interrupting Aiba.

“Eh?” Aiba gave a short laugh. “Why wouldn’t you want to join music club?”

“This is a ‘what if’ situation; just go with it,” Nino answered. “Anyway, I’m not in the music club at my current school.”

“You’re not?” Aiba had told Nino most of what goes on in his school, but now he was starting to realise that Nino hadn’t really told him much in return. “Well...” he said, thinking about it. “I guess trying other stuff will be fun, too. It’ll be like junior high. Plus we play a lot of music in our free time, anyway.”

Nino nodded. “See? You’d just end up doing whatever I want. But since we’re in different schools, at least some of the time we are finding out who we are when we’re not influencing each other. Or something like that.”

Aiba pondered on Nino’s statement in silence for awhile. “I guess you’re right,” he finally said. “Does that mean that you wish that I didn’t interfere with your friendship with Sho-chan, though?”

Nino hit Aiba lightly on the back of his head. “Don’t be an idiot. I may have thought that for awhile, but now I think the way things are are fine, too.”

“Are you sure? Because I will totally leave you and Sho-chan alone if you want. I mean, if you had a girlfriend, I wouldn’t be crashing your dates or anything, and so if you want to hang out with just Sho-chan you could just tell me. I don’t mean to say it like you’re dating Sho-chan or anything like that, though, but if you’re interested in him that way I guess I don’t mind either, I’ll completely respect your wishes. And -” Aiba couldn’t finish talking, as Nino had smacked him again, this time with a throw pillow.

“Aiba?”

“What?” Aiba sulked a little, and rubbed his head where the pillow had hit him.

“Shut up.” Nino shook his head. “Where do you get all your weird ideas?” he wondered, talking to himself more than to Aiba. “Dating Sho. How ridiculous is that?”

“It’s not that ridiculous,” Aiba muttered, thinking of Sho’s teasing smile the last time they met, and the way he had felt in the brief moment Sho's arms were around him.

Nino was oblivious to Aiba's thoughts as he switched off the television and declared, "this show is boring. Let's play a game instead."


	4. Chapter 4

“Suzuki’s not coming today,” Aiba announced when Nino and Sho arrived. He and Sugimoto were already waiting at their usual booth at the local Saizeriya branch, where they usually met before practise.

As Nino and Sho took a place at the table, Nino asked, “why?”

“I’m not sure. He just said that it’s something really important and he couldn’t make it.” Aiba looked at Sugimoto. “Do you have any idea? You’re closer to him than either of us.”

Sugimoto shook his head. “He didn’t say anything to me, either. But my girlfriend is friends with Ai-chan, and she said - Ai-chan said, I mean - that Jun’s family might be moving.”

Aiba frowned. “He would’ve said something if he was, wouldn’t he? I mean, he wouldn’t leave the band in a lurch...”

“That’s why I’m not sure how true it is,” Sugimoto replied. “Ai-chan didn’t seem so sure, either.”

“What about today?” Nino asked. “Are we still going to practise?”

“We do have a live coming up next week, you know,” Sugimoto said in a worried tone. “What if he couldn’t make it?”

“Hey, hey, isn’t it too early to worry about that?” Aiba asked. “We don’t know anything for sure yet!”

“It doesn’t hurt to be prepared, though,” Sho suddenly spoke up. Nino just nodded in agreement, while Aiba bristled. 

“You’re not really a band member, so you don’t have to say anything,” he told Sho.

“Sorry,” Sho said solemnly.

“He’s right, though, Aiba,” Nino inserted. “We need to come up with something just in case.”

“Yeah. If Jun can’t play next week, we’ll need a bassist.”

“I can play bass,” Aiba told them. “I’m not as good as Suzuki, but I’ve been practising on my own and I can handle all of our songs.”

Nino smiled. “Great. I know I said that you were wasting good money when you bought that bass guitar, but now I’ll admit that I’m wrong. We could try that at practise today, then. We’ll have to go and pick up your bass first, though.”

“Umm, guys?” Sugimoto asked, raising a hand as if he was in class. “What about Aiba’s guitar parts? Who would play that?”

“Oh, yeah...” Aiba said, only just realising. He slumped against his seat.

“That’s easy. Sho could stand in for Aiba,” Nino said simply.

“What?” Aiba asked, looking at Sho. “Can you even play? I mean, I know you can, but can you play our songs?”

“Nino had been trying them out with me as he wrote them, so I know most of them, I think,” Sho answered.

“That’s great!” Sugimoto exclaimed. “That’s awesome. Then you can practise with us today, Sakurai-kun. Aiba, you don’t mind lending him your guitar, right?”

“Yeah, sure,” Aiba said dully. He didn’t seem enthusiastic with the idea at all, and his tone made Sho frown and Nino narrow his eyes at him. “I’ll go pick up my bass; you don’t have to come along,” Aiba continued, getting up. “I’ll see you guys back here.”

Sugimoto got up as well. “I’ll go with you anyway, Masaki,” he said. “Ai-chan wanted me to ask you about something...” his voice faded as he and Aiba left the restaurant together.

“Aiba seems to be angry with me lately,” Sho said to Nino in a confused voice. “I don’t get it.”

Nino shrugged. “He’s probably jealous. I told him I didn’t want the two of you to meet each other at first, because I wanted to have friends that didn’t include him.”

“What? Why’d you say that? His feelings must be hurt,” Sho reprimanded. 

“I told him I’m totally fine with you guys being friends now,” Nino answered in defense, holding his hands up in a 'don't blame me' gesture. “It’s not my fault if he’s being sensitive about it now.”

“At least it’s not because he hates me or anything,” Sho said, sighing. “Although after all the beams of sunlight and smiles I’ve been getting from him, it’s a bit of a shock to be treated so coldly,” he complained.

“Take it up with him,” Nino said, unconcerned. “Don’t worry, he’ll get over it soon enough. He always does when he’s mad at me.”

“I wonder about that,” Sho said, wearing a pensive expression that bothered Nino, just a bit.

})i({

By the time Aiba and Sugimoto were back, they only had an hour left to practise before they had to head home. Despite that, they all had to agree that they did well. Aiba wasn’t as good as Suzuki yet, but he had their songs down to pat, and Sho had to learn a couple of songs, but knew most of them already. They left practise with a satisfied feeling, and as they walked out of the rented studio, there was a general feeling of accomplishment and relief among the four.

As Nino and Aiba walked back together, Nino asked Aiba, “Aiba, are you mad at me or Sho?”

“Hmm?” Aiba mumbled. “Why would I be mad at you, Nino?”

“Well, you were kind of distant with Sho and I thought that it’s because of what I said the other day. You know that I really don’t mind you being friends with him, right?”

Aiba laughed. “I’m completely fine. I just have something else on my mind lately. And now that Sugimoto’s dating, he’s been trying to set me up, too.” He looked appealingly at Nino. “He told me today that Ai-chan has another friend that she wanted to introduce to me.”

Barely suppressing his laughter, Nino teased, “you better make sure that she doesn’t like to wear bondage gear, then.”

“That’s exactly what I told Sugimoto!” Aiba said seriously, his voice rising. “Although, maybe the universe is conspiring to set me up with scary girls, who knows? Speaking of which, do you think that it’s possible that nothing we do is really out of our own free will? Like there’s something out there that makes us do things... like, I don’t know... making you feel weird things at inappropriate times or about inappropriate people, or making you wear weird things and think it’s cool...”

Nino tuned Aiba out; it was something that he had had a lot of practise with. As they neared the front gate to Aiba’s place, Nino said, “there’s something you should probably know about Sho.”

Aiba looked at Nino questioningly, and his friend continued, “he doesn’t really have a lot of friends at school. It’s not like I was in junior high; most of the people in our class have been in the same school with him since junior high, and none of them are friendly with him for some reason. He acts like it doesn’t bother him, but I think it does. I should’ve introduced the two of you sooner, now that I think about it, because you’re the friendliest person I know. The fact that you immediately befriended him probably meant a lot to him, so just forget about what I said the other day, okay?”

Aiba looked down. “I was kind of mean to him today, wasn’t I,” he said quietly. “I really wasn’t thinking about that at all; I seriously had other stuff in my head.”

Smiling, Nino said, “I know. You never try to hurt people’s feeling on purpose, after all. Anyway, see you tomorrow.”

Aiba lingered at the gate as Nino left. He felt bad for treating Sho the way he did, especially since it wasn’t even Sho’s or Nino’s fault. He understood how Nino felt about needing some space, even if he didn’t feel the same way himself. It wasn’t bothering him at all. But every time he came close to the real reason he was feeling uneasy the last few days, he pushed the idea away to the back of his mind. He suddenly recalled Sugimoto’s words as they went back to his place.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about her,” Sugimoto had told him. “I keep thinking she’s the coolest person ever” - during which point Aiba had wondered if Sugimoto was a scary person just waiting to come out, too - “and just thinking about her makes my heart beat like crazy, and when she touched me, like when we’re holding hands or something” - during which point Aiba got Sugimoto to admit that he and his girlfriend hadn’t even kissed yet - “my stomach kept doing these stupid flips, and I don’t know if I was going to puke or -” during which point Aiba stopped him, not wanting to know the rest.

 _That sounds terrible_ , he had wanted to say, but he knew that it wasn’t the right thing to say. Sugimoto had looked so happy, and he wanted Aiba to understand that feeling, which was why he was now in league with Suzuki and Ai-chan in their “get Masaki a girlfriend” quest. What Aiba couldn’t tell them, because he couldn’t even admit it to himself, was that he already knew what it felt like, and he wished he didn’t.


	5. Chapter 5

It was a bad day for Aiba. He was completely spaced out in school, which would have been okay if it was a  _normal_  day, but for some reason he was called on by his teacher in almost every class he had that day. He had forgotten to bring his report for science class, and was lectured by his sadistic lab teacher, who loves to humiliate her students in front of their classmates. And now, after walking all the way home, he realised that he had forgotten to bring his house keys and was locked out. His mother was out with her friends that day, and his brother had club activities, so there was no one home that could let him in either.

 _Good thing there’s Nino_ , he thought miserably as he walked over to the house opposite his.

When he rang the bell, Nino’s sister answered. She was wearing an apron and her face was smeared with something dark. “Aiba,” she said in a surprised tone. “Kazu-chan didn’t say you’re coming today. Didn’t he tell you that he’s not coming back until late?”

Aiba’s face fell. “He didn’t tell me,” he admitted. “I forgot my keys and am locked out of the house; do you think I could stay over until my mom or brother gets back?”

“You poor thing,” Yukie said, reaching over to ruffle his hair. “Come on in! You could hang out in Kazu-chan’s room if you want, or in the living room. I’ll get you something to drink.”

“Um, Yukie-chan... do you realise that you have chocolate stains on your face?”

“Really?” She reached up to wipe at the stain, but only succeeded in spreading it. “I’m making chocolates for Valentines,” she explained.

“That’s right... Valentines day is coming soon, huh,” Aiba recalled. “Wait... does that mean that you’re making chocolate to give to someone?” He stared at Nino’s sister, who was also one of his playmates when he was younger.  _Yukie-chan is a senior now, huh..._  he thought, realising that he still thought of her as the young girl he used to play with.

Yukie smiled. “Yeah, well, my boyfriend will be sad if I didn’t give him any chocolate.” She motioned for Aiba to follow her into the kitchen. “Come on, you could help out and taste the first batch.”

})i({

Aiba ended up hanging out with Yukie in the kitchen, helping her out a little while listening to her talk about her boyfriend. “What about you, Aiba?” she asked. “Is there anyone in particular that you’re hoping to get chocolates from?”

He wished that he didn’t blush so easily, as he felt his cheeks grow hot. “Not really,” he said.

“Really? You could tell me these things, you know,” Yukie said. “You’re just as much as a brother to me as Kazu-chan is.”

“Really, there’s no girl right now,” he insisted.

“Well, that’s okay. You’re just starting out in high school, so there’s got to be a lot of other stuff in your life right now too. Especially with the band and stuff. You don’t have to rush when it comes to falling in love and getting a girlfriend. It’s just that it’d be great to be able to tease you about thinking about her 24/7 and feeling like everything’s in overdrive when you’re near her, ‘cause Kazu-chan’s not obliging.” She rolled her eyes. “Whenever I even mention girls to him, he’d just give me a bored look and tell me I’m being nosy. Is that really something one should say to their older sister?”

Aiba laughed. “Well, you  _are_  kind of nosy,” he told her, and she punched him lightly on the shoulder. The two of them were grinning at each other when Nino walked in.

“Am I interrupting something?” Nino asked blandly, giving them a pointed look. 

“Aiba got locked out - again - and is helping me with my Valentine chocolates while waiting for Yuu-chan to be back.”

“I met Yuu-chan on my way from the station, and we walked back together,” Nino said. “So he’s home now.”

“Great. Guess I’ll get going now,” Aiba said quickly, getting up and grabbing his school bag. “See you.” He turned to Yukie. “Thanks for spending time with me, Yukie-chan.”

“No problem,” she replied, and winked at him. Nino glowered. Amused, Yukie reflected that while she couldn’t tease Nino about girls, she could always tease him about Aiba.

When Aiba had gone, Nino asked, “you’re not thinking weird stuff about Aiba, are you?”

Yukie laughed. “You really go straight to the point, don’t you? Why, will you get angry if your best friend put the moves on your beloved sister? Will you tell him, ‘stay away from my sister?’”

“You can take care of yourself,” Nino said dismissively. “It’s Aiba that I’m worried about.” When her expression changed, he immediately added, “it’s just that he’s so sensitive and he gets hurt so easily, and you’re stronger than that.”

His sister nodded. “I know. I was just teasing you, Kazu-chan. The two of you have always been close, and I know that you’ve always been watching over Aiba. But you know what? You can’t just appoint yourself as the guardian of Aiba’s heart, or whatever it is you think you’re doing. Sooner or later he’s going to fall in love, and he’s going to get hurt. He’ll learn from the experience and be stronger because of it.”

Nino sighed. “He’s an idiot,” he told his sister. “He gives his heart to others too easily; I don’t think he’ll ever learn to be careful not to get hurt.” 

“Well, if it means anything, you’re  _really cute_  when you go all protective over him. You’re like a papa bear, except for the fact that you’re small.” Nino scowled at her, while she pretended to size him up and added, “ _really_  small.” Yukie had occasionally lamented that it was a pity that while she was only moderately pretty, Nino inherited all of their mother’s beauty - on the other hand, Nino was sensitive about the fact that Yukie was tall and he wasn’t. It was a subject of much teasing between the two of them.

})i({

Later in the evening, Yukie dropped by to see Aiba. She handed him three small batches of chocolate, which she had wrapped prettily. “Here, you helped out, so I’m giving you some of these,” she said. “Give Yuu-chan one, too.”

Aiba accepted the chocolates gratefully. “Thanks, but there’s one extra.”

Yukie smiled knowingly. “You can do whatever you want with that. I know that Valentines’ is a girls thing, but sometimes guys have things to confess, too, you know.”

Aiba was glad that it was dark, so Yukie couldn’t see him flushing red again. “Nino is really going to be mad if he thinks we like each other, Yukie-chan. You shouldn’t tease him like that.”

“Don’t worry,” she said. “I’ve set him straight about that. It’s not just me, you know - I really feel sorry for the poor girl you’re going to date, as it’ll be near impossible to get his approval.” She smiled encouragingly. “Just don’t let his overprotectiveness and his temper get in the way of you striking out on your own, okay?”

})i({

Back in his room, Aiba recalled Nino’s reaction to finding him in the kitchen with Yukie-chan. He wasn’t sure if he was more amused or feeling guilty.  _Nino’s going to be really mad if he knew about Sho-chan_ , he thought, and felt a chill go through him.

 _Why did I just think that?_  he wondered. He thought of his conversation with Yukie-chan, and his previous conversation with Sugimoto, their words spinning around in his head and repeating over and over, until everything came together in a moment of clarity.

 _I like Sho-chan_ , Aiba thought in amazement.  _I really, really, like Sho-chan._  The moment he allowed himself to admit it to himself, he felt a rush of joy, and felt like he could start doing something stupid - like start giggling like a little girl, or start running around with no aim - at any moment. But as quickly as the first rush hit him, a feeling of gloom settled in. Another thought flickered through him, saying,  _we’re both guys, so he’ll never fall for me, especially after how I’ve treated him of late_. Even that thought, which made him depressed enough, was overshadowed by another. 

 _I can’t ever let Nino know_.


	6. Chapter 6

“I have really bad news,” Sugimoto told Aiba and Nino as they sat at their usual booth at Saizeriya. “It’s about Jun.”

“Don’t tell me he’s really moving?” Aiba asked, frowning. Suzuki hadn’t been coming to school the last couple of days, so Aiba wasn't able to ask him personally.

Sugimoto nodded. “Unfortunately. He called me up this morning, when I was on the way to school. I thought of looking for you and telling you immediately,” he said to Aiba, “but then I thought it’s probably better to tell everyone at once.”

Nino sighed. “I guess it can’t be helped.”

“Why didn’t he tell me himself?” Aiba asked, wounded.

“He felt really guilty about having to pull out of the band so suddenly, with a live coming up too. He couldn’t face you,” Sugimoto said, leaving out the fact that Suzuki had said that he wouldn’t be able to take it if Aiba got emotional and started crying.

Aiba just looked dejected, while Nino piped up, “Well, at least we’re prepared. Good thing Suzuki’s taught you a lot, Aiba. Do you mind playing bass, at least until we get a new bassist?”

Aiba smiled weakly. “I guess not. Actually, I think I prefer playing bass, so I don’t mind making the change permanent.”

“I guess we’ll ask Sho to join us as a guitarist, then,” Nino said, “unless there are objections?”

“None from me,” Sugimoto said. “He’s pretty good.”

Staring into his glass of water, Aiba said, “I don’t have any objections, either.”

“Good,” Nino said, getting up. “Then it’s settled.” Looking at Aiba, he asked, “You have Sho’s number, right? Could you tell him? I don’t have my phone with me, and I need to run an errand for my mom. I won’t get home til evening, and I think it’s best to tell him as early as possible.”

“Sure,” Aiba said. “I’ll tell Sho.”

 

})i({

Sakurai Sho was used to being alone. When he was a child, his parents wouldn’t allow him to play with the other children. “They’re too dirty,” his mother would say distastefully, thinking of the children running wild in the playground. Play-dates were occasionally arranged, but they were always carefully watched by nannies, which made Sho feel too shy, and the other child would usually decide that Sho was ‘too boring’ and ignore him.

Sho was good at being alone. He didn’t know how to make small talk, and didn’t really understand most of the things his classmates talked about anyway. He did well in school, but it wasn’t a surprise, since he spent most of his time studying by himself or at cram school. The higher his grades went, the more the other students avoided him. The more they avoided him, the more he kept to himself. He didn’t miss having friends, because he never had any. He never stopped to wonder if there was anything missing in his life, even if the only thing he truly enjoyed was his music lessons.

That is, until Ninomiya came along.

Ninomiya was different; Sho had noticed the fact from the first day of high school. He went to a prestigious school, and most of the students that went there had graduated from the same junior high, so Ninomiya’s presence was a novelty to everyone. His dyed hair and slightly arrogant, rebellious attitude only added to the increasingly ridiculous rumours that swarmed around him. (Sho's classmates would probably say that Sho, too, gave an impression of rebellion and arrogance, but Sho had never realised this at all.) Like Sho, he kept to himself, completely untouched by the others’ attitude towards him. Unlike Sho, for whom solitude was just the way things were, it was a conscious choice for Ninomiya.

He first talked to Sho a week after school started, during lunch time. Their desks were next to each other, so Ninomiya just turned to Sho and said, “you know what?”

Sho gave Nino a startled look, surprised to be talked to by someone other than a teacher. “What?” he asked.

“The lone wolf thing, it’s kind of ridiculous when two people do it at the same time. Especially when they’re next to each other.” Nino smiled at him, and Sho wondered how Nino managed to look friendly and cunning at the same time.

Ninonimya’s presence was like a breath of fresh air in Sho’s closed-in, structured life. Talking with Nino was easy, and Sho didn’t feel at all awkward. Upon realising that Sho learned classical music, Nino began pestering Sho to teach him. Sho helped Nino with some of their classes, and soon enough they were both the top students in school. As for Nino, he taught Sho other things, like how to laugh without reserve, and how it felt to do normal things, like watch movies or eat lunch, with someone else. Suddenly everything seemed new to Sho. Suddenly, everything was fun.

Aiba, on the other hand, was something else entirely. From the first day Sho met Nino’s best friend, he hadn't known what to make of Aiba. He was immediately taken in by the other boy’s energy and friendliness, and he was at once overwhelmed and touched to be pulled into Nino and Aiba’s circle of friends.

Despite Aiba’s friendliness, however, Sho didn’t feel immediately relaxed with him, not the way he was with Nino. He always thought it was a little of his old anxiousness coming back, the way he always felt on edge when he was with Aiba. But he was all right with Sugimoto and Suzuki, so he was beginning to question his feelings towards Aiba.

When his phone rang, he picked it up without glancing at the caller ID.

“Sakurai speaking,” he answered automatically.

“Sho-chan?” Aiba sounded nervous. “I need to talk to you about something.”

“Aiba?” he asked back, surprised to receive a phone call from the very person he was thinking about. “What is it?”

“Uh... it’s kind of about Red Shift.” Aiba paused, wondering why he felt so awkward, talking to Sho. Didn’t he talk to Sho normally before this? _I didn’t know that I liked him before this_ , he reminded himself.

“Are you free right now? I’ll meet up with you so that we could talk in person,” Sho told Aiba, sensing Aiba’s awkwardness.

“That’d be great,” Aiba said, relieved. “Not at Saizeriya, though... I’ll meet you at the park near the train station here, is that all right with you?”

Sho assured Aiba that it was, and immediately got ready to leave after hanging up.

 

})i({

Aiba stared at the delicately wrapped package of chocolates that Yukie-chan had given him. Judging from the shape of the chocolates, he knew that it was the ones he helped her make. He wondered if he really should give the chocolates to Sho, and if he was, how he was going to go about it. _What am I thinking?_ he asked himself. _Guys don’t give Valentines chocolates to other guys._

But it was a good break, and he knew that he probably wouldn’t get another chance like this one. Not just a chance to confess his feelings, he knew, but a chance to speak to Sho without Nino around. He sighed, feelings of guilt eating him up inside. _Maybe I should just tell Nino_ , he thought, miserable. _Maybe he would understand._ Aiba wondered if it was true. Even if he liked a girl, he knew that it would take a while to get Nino to accept it. His best friend would probably go ballistic if he knew Aiba liked a guy, and a guy who happened to be his friend, on top of everything else. _What if Nino decided that he’d rather break up the band than have Sho play with us?_ It wasn’t entirely impossible a situation, Aiba knew. Nino was prone to overdoing things when Aiba was concerned.

“Aiba?” Sho’s voice called out from behind him, causing him to jump in surprise. Sho laughed at his reaction, and he smiled back.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

They both looked at each other for awhile. Sho’s eyes strayed to the chocolate in Aiba’s hands and asked, “Valentine’s chocolates? You’re popular at school, huh?”

Aiba blushed. “That’s not it,” he said, embarrassed. “I kind of helped to make these.”

“Oh? You’re giving them to someone, then?” Sho asked, curious.

“You don’t think it’s weird, for a guy to give chocolates on Valentine’s?”

Sho shrugged. “Why should it be?” he asked. “Overseas, guys give gifts on Valentine’s as well as girls. I don’t think they have White Day like we do.”

Aiba gaped at him. “Are you serious?”

“It’s true.” Sho paused, hestitating. “At least, that’s what I’ve read.”

“I see...”

“So, who’s the lucky girl?” Sho asked. He was surprised to realise that he was more curious than he thought would be normal. He really, truly, needed to know Aiba’s answer, he decided, holding his breath.

Panicking, and unable to tell the truth, Aiba said, “A girl at school. Inoue Mika,” he said, picking one of his classmate’s name at random.

Sho felt a tinge of jealousy, and let go of his breath. “Shouldn’t you have given it to her at school, then?” he asked.

“Um. Well.” Aiba wished that he could disappear. “I didn’t have the nerve to give it to her after all, in the end. I was wondering what to do with the chocolate, since it’d be a waste to throw it.”

Sho eyed the chocolate wistfully. “Well, don’t. It’d really be a waste, since you’ve put so much effort into it.” Before Aiba could protest that it wasn't an effort, Sho asked, “what was it that you wanted to ask about? You said it was about Red Shift?”

“Yeah, that. Suzuki’s family is really moving,” Aiba said sadly. “So he’s going to have to leave the band as well. Nino and I and Sugimoto decided that I’ll take on the bass from now on, so we’d like to ask you to join the band, to take my place as guitarist.”

Sho nodded. “Okay.”

“That’s it?” Aiba asked. “You’re not going to think about it first or anything?”

“What’s there to think about?” Sho asked. “Lately I’ve been hanging out with you guys most of the time anyway, so it’s not like it’s taking up time that I’m spending elsewhere, and I liked playing with all of you the other day.”

Remembering that day, Aiba looked apologetic. “I’m sorry that I was kind of harsh that day,” he said. “I wasn’t in the best of moods.”

“That’s all right.” Sho held out his hand. “Friends?”

Aiba took Sho’s hands and shook it. Neither of them looked at the other in the eye.

 

})i({

When Sho reached home again, he carelessly placed his bag on the sofa, and was about to walk away when it toppled over, spilling its contents on the floor. He walked over to pick up the fallen items, when he came across the chocolates.

He picked it up and held it out, wondering if Aiba had misplaced it, when he saw the tag. _For Sho-chan_ , it said. His name was written in pencil, and it looked like it had been erased and re-written several times, before the writer decided to leave it alone.

Sho stared at the package for a long time, a smile slowly forming on his lips.


	7. Chapter 7

It’s been almost a week since Nino last saw Aiba. The first few days, it didn’t seem too strange to him. After all, he was pretty busy with school as well, and he was starting to get used to spending time with Sho or just by himself. But soon he began to notice that Aiba hadn’t been calling him on a daily basis, or coming over when he was bored, like he usually does. Nino wasn’t too concerned, though, as he figured that he would see Aiba at band practise on Friday evening.

Except that Aiba wasn’t there. Aiba usually would wait with Sugimoto and Suzuki at Saizeriya for Nino and Sho, but that Friday Sugimoto was the only one there. 

“Where’s Aiba?” Nino asked.

Sugimoto looked surprised. “Didn’t you know?”

“If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking, would I?” Nino asked, irritated that Sugimoto knew something he didn’t.

Sugimoto shrugged. “I guess it’s pretty sudden, anyway. Aiba didn’t come to school today, either. Seems like he has a fever or something.”

Nino was quiet as he processed the information. Usually Aiba would call him immediately if he even had a slight headache, just because he knew it annoyed Nino. “Well, I guess it’s just us for today, then,” he finally said. “We can’t skip practise as Sho still needs to learn our songs.”

})i({

After practise, Sho left early while Nino accompanied Sugimoto for dinner. Sugimoto’s parents were both working, and since they were usually back late, Sugimoto ate out a lot. One of the reasons the band usually hung out after practise was because Aiba didn’t like the idea of Sugimoto eating alone.

Instead of heading home, Sho walked to Aiba’s place. He knew where it was, since he’s been to Nino’s plenty of times, but it was the first time he went to Aiba's.

“Nii-chan! A friend of yours is here!” Yusuke shouted. He shot a grin at Sho and said, “You can go up to his room. His fever isn’t actually very bad; he’s just being a big baby.”

Sho thanked Yusuke and walked up. When he reached the top of the stairs, Aiba was already standing there. “Sho-chan,” Aiba murmured, blinking at him. “What are you doing here?”

“I heard you weren’t feeling well.”

“Oh.” Aiba looked away in embarrassment. “Actually, my fever wasn’t really that bad. Mom just made me stay home as a precaution.” He walked into his room, and held out his door, inviting Sho in. “You can sit there,” he said, waving in the general direction of the chair at his study desk. He stuck his head out of the room and yelled down to Yusuke, “Yuu-chan! Can you make some tea?” Satisfied with Yusuke’s answer, he went over to sit at the edge of his bed, opposite Sho.

“Thanks for the chocolates,” Sho said, and observed in interest as Aiba turned red. _He sure does that a lot_ , Sho mused. He found it rather cute.

“You didn’t think it was weird or anything?” Aiba asked.

“No,” Sho answered, starting to feel embarrassed himself. “Actually, I was thinking more of the fact that I don’t know what to get you for White Day, although I really don’t want to wait for White Day.” He laughed to himself. “I guess it is kind of weird, in the sense that this, whatever this is, is a completely new thing for me and I have no idea what’s the right or wrong thing to do.”

The two of them looked at each other for a moment. Aiba was still flushed, and worried that it was partly because of the fever, Sho leaned forward, and reached out to touch Aiba’s forehead. “You should be resting,” he said quietly. He was about to draw his hand away, but Aiba caught it and held on. “What?”

“Nothing,” Aiba said, ducking his head. He still held Sho’s hand. “Were you really going to get me something for White Day?”

Sho nodded awkwardly. It was hardly the first time they touched, and yet somehow it was different. The longer they remained that way, the more significant the moment seemed to them. As their pulse quickened, they couldn’t hear anything but the sound of their hearts beating. They looked at each other, both bewildered by the way they felt.

They were interrupted by a bang as Yusuke accidentally bumped the tray he was holding to Aiba’s door. “Sorry,” Yusuke called out, steadying the tray. “I didn’t spill anything, so it’s all right, I guess.” He looked up and paused, surprised by the sight of Aiba and Sho holding hands. Aiba jerked his hand away from Sho's, as if he was touching something scalding hot.

“Thanks, Yuu-chan,” Aiba said quickly, as he got up to take the tray from Yusuke and sat it down on his desk. 

“I’ll be downstairs if you need anything,” Yusuke said, frowning at his brother before leaving. Aiba made sure that he closed the door before he sat back down.

“Yuu-chan makes great tea,” Aiba told Sho brightly. “I don’t know how he does it really, because mom taught both of us but my tea just tastes watery and his turn out great all the time. I guess it doesn’t matter if you don’t like tea, though, huh… I’m sorry I didn’t ask before if you preferred tea or coffee. You do seem like a coffee kind of person. I can make great coffee if you want…” he trailed off when he saw Sho laughing to himself. “What?”

Sho shook his head. “It’s nothing. I guess you always talk like that, huh?”

“Like what?”

Lifting his shoulder in a shrug, Sho said, “Like… you, I guess.” He smiled, and stood up. “I guess I should get going soon. Take care, okay?”

“Wait,” Aiba said. Sho looked at him questioningly, and he just looked back. “What’s happening between us?” he finally asked.

“I’m not sure,” Sho answered. He sat down again, next to Aiba. He wanted to kiss Aiba, he realised. He had never wanted to kiss anyone as much as he wanted to kiss Aiba at that moment. Without thinking about it, he leaned in... and their noses collided. He pulled back slightly, and Aiba let out a small laugh. 

“Dork,” Aiba said softly, his voice almost tender. Sho made a face at him and leaned in again, this time tilting his head slightly as he noticed Aiba’s eyes flutter to a close. When their lips met it was like he could feel every single nerve in his body tingling and spiraling all over. His arms snaked around Aiba’s waist, and Aiba arched slightly at his touch. For the first time since he started music lessons, Sho felt like he had found something he wanted to have for the rest of his life.

When the realisation hit, he pulled back. He had never felt so unsure of himself, or so scared of what the future might bring. He looked at Aiba, whose expression seemed to mirror his. “What happens now?” Sho asked.

“I just asked you that,” Aiba reminded him. “I guess I don’t know, either. All I know is, we can’t tell Nino.”

Sho frowned. “Why not?”

“Because he’s going to kill you, and then break up the band, and then move back to my school so that he could make sure no one gets near me ever again, that’s why!”

Sho grinned, hearing Aiba’s words. “Aren’t you exaggerating things?”

Aiba didn’t see any humour in the matter, and said seriously, “you don’t know Nino. I love him, he’s my best friend, but sometimes he takes his overprotective thing too far.”

Sho shook his head. “But he knows me. I’m sure he’ll -”

“-think that you made this elaborate plan to trap me into a relationship with you,” Aiba interrupted heatedly. “You’ve probably been stalking me for sometime and you made sure that you and Nino would become friends so that you could be a part of my life and slowly make me like you more and more until I just can’t resist you anymore, and - why are you laughing?” Aiba asked Sho, indignant.

“Are you sure you’re talking about Nino, and not you?” Sho asked, while still laughing. “You’re the one with the overactive imagination, after all.” 

Aiba glowered at Sho until he stopped laughing. “It’s not funny,” Aiba insisted, but the edges of his lips lifted as he spoke. “Anyway, promise you don’t tell Nino.”

“Are you sure -”

“Just promise me - _say it_.”

Sho sighed. “All right,” he agreed. “I _promise_ I won’t tell Nino, even though I probably should.” He looked at his watch. “I really ought to go now.”

“Wait, Sho-chan.”

“Hmm?”

“Kiss me again, before you leave?”


	8. Chapter 8

Yusuke leaned against the brick wall of the grocery store next to the train station, frowning. He was thinking about the moment he walked into his brother’s room, and saw his brother and that Sakurai guy holding hands. It was just a brief moment, and he had seen Aiba and Nino hold hands dozens of times, but somehow it seemed different, that moment of unguarded intimacy he had seen.

“Yuu-chan, what are you doing there? Did you even go to school today?”

He looked up to see Nino walking towards him, on his way back from school. He straightened up. “Of course I went to school,” he said, defensive. “I was just thinking.”

“Staring off into space, more like,” Nino corrected, as he got closer. He linked his arm with Yusuke’s. “Come on, let’s go back. Aiba will be mad at me if I let his little brother loiter around without purpose.”

“No, he won’t,” Yusuke said sourly, but he let Nino pull him along. “And I’m not _little_.” 

They continued their walk home mostly in silence, and Yusuke studied Nino. That Sakurai guy was from Nino’s school, he realised, remembering the uniform. He had wondered why some guy from a different school was visiting his brother, but he supposed they must have known each other through Nino. Now he wondered if Nino knew anything about them. “Nino-nii...” he started.

“What is it?” Nino turned to him. “You have problems at school or something? Is that why you’re loitering around looking like the world’s out to get you?”

“ _No_ ,” Yusuke replied emphatically. “It’s... nothing, I guess.” 

Nino nodded. “Okay.” Then he grinned and asked, “is Aiba feeling better? I’m thinking of going over to your place today, I haven’t seen him in awhile.”

“He’s better,” Yusuke informed him. “He went to school today, but I think he said that he’s going out after? He just wanted to do something outdoorsy after being cooped up at home, or something.”

“I guess I’ll see him later then,” Nino said easily. “Sugimoto had been saying something about going over to Suzuki’s since he’s moving this week, so maybe Aiba went with him.”

Yusuke didn’t reply, and extracted his arm from Nino’s as he continued walking. Nino stopped for a moment, and watched Aiba’s brother walk in front of him, wondering what was wrong.

})i({

Aiba was on a high the whole week. He had met up with Sho after school on “dates” a few times, although it was mostly stuff that he did together with Nino anyway, like karaoke and movies and raiding grocery stores for the weirdest food items they could find, and trying them out while hanging out in the park. Well, the last one was something he had never done with Nino, because Aiba would never be able to get Nino to empty his wallet for ox-tongue flavoured ice-cream, or any of the things that Aiba persuaded Sho to get. To all outward appearances, they probably seemed like two normal friends, he knew, but for some reason spending time with Sho felt very different to him than when he’s with Nino. Of course, he usually didn’t hold Nino’s hands in the movie theatre and he never interrupted Nino mid-song in the karaoke room to kiss him, but that wasn’t _it_ , not really. It was that Sho’s presence was enough to make him feel like there is a giddiness bubbling up in him, and without any warning he was up in the clouds and there was no one who could bring him down.

On Friday evening, though, Aiba was fidgeting as he and Sugimoto sat at their usual booth in Saizeriya. “What’s wrong with you?” Sugimoto asked, not looking up from his homework. “You’ve been more hyper than usual at school and now you seem really anxious.”

Aiba shook his head, and tried to sit still. “It’s nothing,” he said. “Just feeling a bit restless.”

When Nino and Sho arrived, Nino announced that they weren’t going to get anything, and that they were heading straight to the studio to talk to the guy who took over, since Suzuki’s brother was no longer running it. “Let’s see if we could get a similar discount for being regulars, or something,” Nino said. He quickly turned to leave after that, expecting the rest of them to follow, and Sugimoto scrambled to get his things ready, as he had papers and books spread out on the table. Aiba looked up at Sho, who was smiling at him. He smiled back, obviously glad to see Sho, but feeling a little strange, because it was the first time that they were out with the rest of the band since they got together.

It occurred to Aiba that keeping this from Nino was going to be harder than he thought.

})i({

“Damn it, Aiba, what’s wrong with you today?” Nino burst out. Sho and Sugimoto had already winded down to a stop by then, and were looking back and forth between Aiba and Nino. Aiba just blinked at Nino in confusion.

“What?”

“What song are we doing now?” Nino asked impatiently.

“Um,” Aiba thought of the song he was playing, “ _Tanpopo_?”

Nino glared at him. “Well, the rest of us were playing _Hibari no Kokoro_. Maybe you’d like to join us?”

Realising his mistake, Aiba looked sheepish. “I’m sorry,” he said to Nino. “I guess I’m just really spaced out right now.” He wasn’t really even listening to what the rest of them were playing; he was too busy looking at Sho. He blushed at the thought, and sneaked another glance at the person in question. Sho just raised an eyebrow at him questioningly, and for the strangest reason all he wanted to do at the moment was announce to Nino and Sugimoto that Sho was his boyfriend.

 _Boyfriend_.

It was the first time he allowed himself to even put that word and Sho in the same sentence, even if it was only in his head. He felt giddy, just thinking about it. _Is Sho my boyfriend? I guess he must be, since we’ve been dating, but we haven’t really talked about it that much, but we’re definitely romantic, right, because he kissed me that other day, and…_

“-might as well quit. Are you even listening to me?” Nino asked the last question in a raised voice. He was used to seeing that expression on Aiba’s face, and knew what it meant - that Aiba was having an internal monologue with himself. It was just slightly worse than when Aiba talked non-stop out loud.

“What?” Aiba asked. He tried to gage how mad Nino was. _Not that mad_ , he decided. _Just severely irritated, and maybe a little worried._ He supposed that he hadn’t seen much of his best friend of late, he thought guiltily. Sugimoto looked amused at their exchange, having been used to Nino and Aiba since junior high, while Sho was starting to look concerned. Aiba realised that it was probably the first time he witnessed Nino going off on Aiba like that. “You’re scaring Sho-chan, Nino.”

Nino looked at Sho, startled. “Don’t change the subject,” he said, still talking to Aiba. “We’re like this all the time, Sho, don’t worry about it.” Stepping closer to Aiba, Nino asked, “Are you sure you still don’t have a fever?”

“That was a week ago!” Aiba exclaimed. “I have stuff on my mind, that’s it. I’m sorry, okay?”

Nino reached out to check Aiba’s temperature anyway. “Okay,” he said, satisfied. “I guess we’ll just do this one more time, from the top. It’s _Hibari no Kokoro_ this time,” he said pointedly to Aiba.

“Yeah, yeah...” Aiba said, nodding vigorously as Sugimoto started to count in, and concentrated on his playing this time.

})i({

The rest of practise went on smoothly, and Aiba didn’t make any more mistakes. In fact, he was concentrating so hard, that he played better than he usually did, which spurred on the rest of the band to play their best as well. Nino reflected that it would be great if they would be able to play that well in their next live, since it would be the first time they would play with Sho as an official member of the band.

When the song was over, Nino said, “let’s take a break. Since our next live we’ll be introducing Sho as a new band member, I think we should make sure that we kick ass. Are you guys okay with extending today’s practise a couple of hours?”

“My parents won’t be back until then anyway, so it won’t be a problem,” Sugimoto said, while Sho commented that since he still had a lot to learn anyway, he thought it was a good idea.

Aiba just nodded in agreement, and said, “I’ll go get drinks for everyone. My treat today - sorry for spacing out earlier.” He left, shooting a pointed look at Sho as he walked out. They usually took a ten-minute break in the middle of practise, but since they were extending their studio hours, this time they would take about fifteen to twenty minutes. Nino had already walked out to the small reception area to talk to Murakami-san, the guy who took over the studio after Suzuki’s brother, while Sugimoto had unzipped his backpack to take out a revision book. Nino wondered why Sugimoto studied so much sometimes, but never really asked.

Sho looked at both Sugimoto and Nino for awhile, and finally said something about helping Aiba to bring back the drinks before walking out after their bassist.

})i({

“Aiba?” Sho called out, as he saw Aiba waiting for him outside the studio.

“You certainly took your time,” Aiba muttered, but he was smiling. “Come on, let’s go get drinks. You’re paying,” he said, holding out a hand towards Sho. Sho hesitated, and looked out into the street, wondering if it was a good idea to hold hands in public. His thoughts must be written on his face, because Aiba lowered his hand immediately. 

The two of them walked to the vending machine at the corner of the building, and Sho asked, “Why am I paying when you were the one who spaced out?”

“Because,” Aiba said patiently, as he reached into Sho’s pocket to get Sho’s wallet, and took out some money, “you were the reason I couldn’t think straight during practise.” He was punching in his choice of drinks, and didn’t see Sho’s reaction to his words.

“Oh,” Sho said, and gave a small cough, but there was still a lump in his throat. Aiba passed two cans to Sho, and was about to turn back to the machine, when he noticed Sho’s embarrassment.

“Sho-chan, you’re so cute,” he said, and moved forward to brush his lips against Sho’s on impulse. It was a very light kiss, and it was over almost immediately, but Sho froze, torn between wanting to kiss Aiba again and wanting to berate Aiba for doing something like that when they’re outside where anyone could’ve seen them, while Aiba was grinning at him, knowing exactly what was going on in his head. 

“It’s funny how you’re so awkward in public when you certainly didn’t mind kissing me when we’re...” Aiba trailed off as he saw the figure coming up to them from their right. “Hi, Nino,” he said weakly, paling.

Nino stopped about a foot away from them, and gave them an expressionless stare. To Aiba, it seemed like an eternity had passed before his best friend bit out, “what the hell is going on?”

Aiba opened his mouth, but no words came out. He was panicking; he had seen Nino in all variants of mad, it’s true, but he had never seen such cool indifference in his best friend’s eyes when looking at him.

“We’re buying drinks,” Sho said, his voice as cool as the look in Nino’s eyes.

“Well, forget about it,” Nino said, just as coolly. “Murakami-san said that the studio is already booked for the next hour, so we’re not extending our hours after all. Now, since the two of you seem to have other things in mind anyway, I’m going home.”

“Nino -” Aiba managed to choke out.

“I’m not talking to you right now,” Nino said sharply, eyes still locked in a stare match with Sho. He didn’t think he could rein in his temper long enough to deal with Aiba at the moment, so he broke the eye contact with Sho, and strode away.


	9. Chapter 9

Nino was sulking. Aiba probably wouldn’t quite have phrased it that way, but that was certainly how Sho saw it. He avoided Sho and Aiba throughout the next week, which was difficult, since Aiba was his neighbour and Sho sat next to him in school, and he had stated that the only reason he was still going to show up at practise was because he was a _professional_ and didn’t let the fact that he had two _traitorous idiots_ as band mates stop him from practising.

Aiba was nearly in tears when Nino had said that, but Sho just squeezed his hand comfortingly and said quietly that Nino would have to learn to get over himself. One good thing about what happened, though, was that he and Aiba told Sugimoto about their relationship, as there was no way they could hide the tension between Aiba, Nino and Sho from the drummer.

Sugimoto was surprised to hear the news, but he took it rather well, especially when compared to Nino’s reaction. But then again, Sho supposed, judging from Sugimoto’s choice of girlfriend, the drummer had to be an open-minded guy. It was pretty strange, really, because from outward appearances Sugimoto looked like your average school nerd. Which goes to show that appearances are deceiving, Sho supposed. He had thought that Nino was a pretty rational guy, but it seemed like Nino tends to abandon all reason when it came to Aiba. 

Since Nino was pretending that Sho didn’t exist, Sho had retreated back into his usual solitude in school. Somehow, it was a lot harder than it used to be. Partly it was because since he and Nino started to hang out in school, his classmates had started to see him in a different way. For the first time, he didn’t seem so _unreachable_ \- it was as if they were thinking, if Ninomiya-kun could befriend Sakurai-kun, then why couldn’t they? No one really approached either of them, but if a lot of their classmates talked about them a lot when they weren’t friends, when they have started to pair up in school they seemed to be the main subject of all the gossips. Sho didn’t really used to care about all that, but now that even Nino was ignoring him, he was suddenly aware of everything people had said about him.

“He must be pretty terrible after all, since even someone like Ninomiya-kun had stopped talking to him...”

“Yeah, I heard that his family’s rich, so he must be really stuck up...”

Laughter. “That’s a well-known fact. Everyone could see that he thinks he’s better than everyone; look at the way he never really participates in anything, like he’s too good to hang out with the likes of us...”

Sho pretended not to hear, and busied himself with his notes, as he usually did. He wondered what was going to happen after school. It was Friday, and usually he and Nino would go back together to meet up Aiba and Sugimoto, but now... when the last school bell rang, signifying the end of the day, he glanced at Nino. The other boy didn’t even look his way as he grabbed his bag and walked off to the music club’s room, where they had left their guitars for safe keeping while at school. 

He felt like confronting Nino, because it seemed really childish to ignore him now when they were going to have to rehearse together anyway, but he didn’t really feel like he had the energy to do so. He was more concerned about Aiba, who was pretty broken up about how things had turned out.

})i({

As he walked out of the school entrance, a voice called out. “Sakurai-kun.”

Sho turned to see a girl behind him. She had long dark hair, which she kept in a ponytail, and she was taking off her glasses to keep inside her bag. Akiya Michiyo, Sho thought, remembering her name. She was in his class, but they had never spoken to each other before this. He remembered her well, though, because she was pretty loud and outspoken in class, and was cheerful most of the time, which reminded Sho a little of Aiba.

“Did you and Ninomiya-kun have a fight?” she asked him. Normally Sho would dismiss her question, thinking that she was only gathering information to gossip about tomorrow, but she sounded truly concerned. He frowned, wondering why it was any of her business.

“Sorry for butting into your problems,” she said. “It’s just that you and Ninomiya-kun remind me of my boyfriend and his best friend, so I kind of got a little more interested than what’s appropriate, I guess.”

Sho smiled back. “Thanks for asking,” he said to her. “It’s nice of you.”

Michiyo noted the fact that Sho completely avoided answering her question, so she pointed to his guitar, changing the subject. “Do you play that, or is it just to look cool?”

“Yeah, I play it,” Sho said, a little embarrassed. No one at school knew that he and Nino were in a band, although he supposed that anyone could guess it, since they would bring their guitars to school on Fridays. “I’m in a band, right now.”

“That’s cool,” Michiyo said. “I wish I could play instruments, but it seems like my only talent is studying. Although it’s not cute at all that you’re the top student in school and according to rumours, you’re filthy rich, as if most of the students here aren’t, haha, and now you’re saying you’re in a band? _Too_ perfect to believe. I think you should try to cultivate a flaw or two, just to maintain a balance.” She said it teasingly, and Sho couldn’t help but smile back.

“Believe me, I have more than my fair share of flaws,” Sho said. “Haven’t you heard the rumours? Apparently I’m an evil masochist who tortures his servants for pleasure. Not to mention I hate all humankind and spend the entire school year planning to burn everything to the ground as soon as I graduate.”

Michiyo laughed. “I like you,” she stated right then, as if she had seriously thought about it, and considered Sho as a worthy friend. “All right, see you later, I guess... my boyfriend’s waiting for me over there,” she said, pointing. Sho saw a skinny guy with spiked hair and a scowl on his face in the direction where she was pointing, and assumed she was talking about him. “Good luck with the band, and hope you and Ninomiya-kun settle things between you!” she called out as she walked away, waving goodbye.

})i({

When Sho reached the train platform, Nino was still there, waiting for the train. Sho walked up to Nino, and asked, “don’t you think the silent treatment is a little childish?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Nino said. “I’m not talking to you because I have nothing to talk to you about, not because I’m trying to be all passive-aggressive or whatever.” 

“Mmm,” Sho murmured in acknowledgement, and didn’t move away. The two of them stood side by side at the platform, Nino looking straight ahead, Sho looking at Nino. “Look, I’m sorry about not telling you earlier,” Sho said.

“It’s your business, not mine,” Nino snapped, turning to glare at Sho. “I should’ve guessed, since I haven’t seen either of you much in the last week. What, you’ve been dating all this time and decided not to tell me?” He wasn’t really thinking about what he was saying, but when he saw the guilt in Sho’s face, he realised that he had hit on the truth. He swore. “Seems like I’ve hit the bull’s eye.” 

He couldn’t think of what else to say, as a lot of different thoughts and feelings churned within him. He wanted to tell Sho, _stay away from my best friend_. He wanted to demand, _why didn’t you tell me?_ He wanted to shake both Sho and Aiba and say, _you don’t date band members; it’s only going to end badly._ He wanted to give both of them a smack in the head so that they would realise that they were both _guys_ , and that dating each other would be _weird_. He felt betrayed, and abandoned, somehow, on top of the anger he felt towards Sho (he blamed Sho entirely) and the increasing concern he had for Aiba (suddenly all the rumours about Sho in school seemed like they might be true, and he was starting to imagine all the scenarios in which Sho would hurt Aiba). Amidst all those feelings, there was the hurt that Aiba didn’t tell him anything, and the panic rising at the thought that the reason Aiba had been distant in the last week was because his friend no longer needed him, now that he had Sho.

Sho was about to reply, but the train arrived, and Nino walked in without glancing back at him. The door was already closing when Sho hurried in, and it almost closed on him. Neither of the boys spoke on rest of the way to the studio.

})i({

Nino didn’t say much during practise, except to bark out instructions. Aiba looked utterly miserable, while Sugimoto, strangely enough, seemed completely at ease with how everyone was acting. When Nino called out their break time, both Sho and Aiba couldn’t wait to get out of the studio. For once, Sho didn’t care about what other people thought, and pulled Aiba into a hug as soon as they were in the reception area.

“I don’t think I can take it anymore,” Aiba said, his voice muffled. “I just want to be friends with Nino again.”

“I know,” Sho murmured. “I’m sorry.” He missed Nino’s friendship, too, but in a way he felt like he deserved Nino’s anger. He just wished that Aiba would be spared from it. Sho felt like he was to blame for what was going on, although the logical part of his mind told him that all three of them played a part in the turn of events. Knowing something didn’t really change how you felt about it, he realised, as he still felt like everything was his fault.


	10. Chapter 10

“Come on!” Aiba insisted. “You’ve got to go on this one - what’s the point of going to a theme park if you’re going to pass on all the rides?”

“You’re the one who wanted to come here,” Sho reminded Aiba.

“Yeah, because it’s fun! Except that you’re not playing along,” Aiba replied.

“I just don’t see why it’s fun.” Sho looked up at the roller-coaster; it goes so very high up, that even looking at it made him feel a little nauseous. 

Aiba looked at Sho thoughtfully. “Sho-chan... could it be that you’re scared of heights?”

“No, I’m not,” Sho said, flustered. “I don’t like being high up, and don’t see the point of it, but that doesn’t mean I’m _scared_ or anything.”

“Uh huh,” Aiba sounded amused and patronising, which incensed Sho a little.

“It’s true! I’ll prove it. Let’s go on that ride together.” Sho looked determined to proof that he wasn’t scared, which only amused Aiba even more. Aiba laughed.

“It’s okay, Sho-chan,” Aiba said, pulling at Sho’s sleeves as Sho headed towards to roller-coaster. “Let’s go on the Ferris wheel instead! That’s a lot less scary.”

“I told you I’m not scared.”

“Yeah, but... I want to go on the Ferris wheel.” Aiba turned and beamed at Sho, who just allowed himself be pulled towards the direction of the Ferris wheel, which went even higher than the roller-coaster.

})i({

Sho stared out the window determinedly, not looking at Aiba, who was grinning widely. He knew Aiba was relishing in his discomfort, but he still didn’t want to let on to the fact that he was absolutely, positively _sure_ that the car of the Ferris wheel they were in was going to plummet to the ground at any moment.

“Isn’t this fun?” Aiba asked, getting up from the seat opposite Sho and going to sit right next to him instead.

“What are you doing?” Sho asked. “Go back to your side.”

“No way,” Aiba said, scooting closer to Sho. “The whole point of Ferris wheels is that it’s really romantic to be high up here, together.”

“I really don’t see what’s so fun about this,” Sho muttered. His heart was beating like crazy, and he didn’t know if it was because of Aiba or because he was scared - he could admit it to himself, but he was with Aiba and he wanted Aiba to think he was cool. He scowled.

Aiba stood up and starting to jump about, startling Sho into a yelp. “Sit down!” Sho cried out, and pulled Aiba down. Aiba fell on Sho’s lap, and stayed there.

“Admit it, you were scared,” Aiba said, his eyes still glinting with merriment.

“Okay, fine, I’m scared,” Sho said, irritated, hoping that it would stop Aiba from pulling any more crazy stunts. As Aiba got off his lap and moved to sit next to him again, Sho added, “My heart is pounding like crazy, thanks to you.”

“That’s called being excited,” Aiba informed him. “You should try it more often.”

“Feels more like getting a heart attack,” Sho mumbled to himself. “I’ll die if I do it more often.” Aiba laughed again, and Sho looked at him curiously. 

“We’re nearing the top now,” Aiba said, when he stopped laughing. Sho glanced out and realised that Aiba was right. He looked down, and immediately looked away. 

“When are we going back down already?” he asked, figuring that since Aiba already knew that he was scared, it was alright to say it out loud.

Aiba just smiled and asked, “How’s your heart doing now?”

“I’m seriously going to die if I don’t get back down soon,” Sho said, only half joking.

“Try this,” Aiba said, and dropped a light kiss on Sho’s lips. “Better?”

“How’s that supposed to help?” Sho asked. 

His heartbeat only increased from the realisation that he and Aiba were alone, together, and he frowned. Aiba kissed him again, pressing closer to Sho this time. Sho let out a low sound of pleasure, and his hands gripped at the bars of the Ferris wheel windows, because he wanted them in Aiba’s hair, wrapped around Aiba’s body, pulling up Aiba’s shirt, and a voice at the back of his head was still shouting at him that it would be a bad idea. “Aiba, stop,” he gasped out between kisses. “Anyone could see us.” 

“No, they can’t,” Aiba murmured, his lips leaving Sho’s and trailing downwards. His hands reached out for Sho’s, trying to unwrap Sho’s fingers from the bars. As he succeeded, Sho’s fingers grabbed his instead. Sho was about to give in, when he looked at their entwined hands over the bars, and beyond it, where a young girl was looking at them with wide eyes from the neighboring passenger car. They were on the way down already, and the girl could see them clearly from her car. “Aiba!” Sho said desperately, and motioned towards the window. Aiba turned to look, and to Sho’s surprise, only fell into laughter again.

“Ooops,” Aiba said sheepishly. “Guess you were right, after all.” He grinned at the girl and waved. She stared for awhile longer, but waved back.

“You’ve traumatised that girl for life,” Sho told Aiba. “You’ve taken away her innocence.”

His words only made Aiba laugh harder, doubling over. “Sho-chan,” Aiba wheezed out between laughs, “you’re just too cute for words.”

Sho glared at Aiba, but by the time Aiba’s laughter subsided, there was a hint of a smile on Sho’s lips.

Aiba thought he was cute. Perhaps it wasn’t what he wanted, but he supposed that it was still good.

Sho took Aiba’s hands again, and they spent the rest trip back down in silence. Aiba rested his head on Sho’s shoulders, and he was humming one of the new songs their band was working on to himself, smiling all the while. Sho was glad that at least for that day, Aiba was able to forget about everything that was going on with Nino.

})i({

Sho followed Aiba to the train station before they parted ways. Aiba was cheerful and bouncy throughout the ride back home, saying again and again that he was glad that they decided to go out that day, and that he was glad that they found each other despite being in different schools - at which point Sho was already looking furtively around them to see if anyone was listening to their conversation. “I’m glad that you had a good time,” Sho told Aiba sincerely, as they said goodbye. Aiba had been reluctant to go out at first, because he was still feeling bad about Nino, and it was only when Sho promised that Aiba could choose any activity he wanted, that Aiba finally agreed. 

Now, Aiba was whistling as he walked down the street leading to his house. He spent the walk recalling things that they did that day, and by the time he was at his front door, his was thinking of Sho’s attempt to get a plushie he thought was cool from a UFO catcher and utterly failing - Sho was bent on getting the plushie for Aiba, and Aiba finally had to stop him, after Sho had spent a small fortune on his failed attempts. He laughed to himself as he closed the front door behind him.

“You had a good day, I see,” Nino’s voice commented casually, and Aiba stopped dead.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, looking at Nino, who was sitting in his living room with Yuu-chan.

“I asked Nino-nii to help me with maths,” Yusuke said nervously. He knew that Aiba and Nino hadn’t been speaking to each other in awhile, but he needed help, and math just wasn’t Aiba’s strong suit. “But we’re just about done now. Thanks, Nino-nii,” Yusuke said to Nino, and gathered his books. He backed away towards the staircase and went upstairs as Nino and Aiba looked at each other.

“I’m sorry,” Aiba finally said. “I wanted to tell you.”

“So how was your ‘date’ today?” Nino asked, sardonic. Aiba winced.

“It was... good,” Aiba said, telling the truth. He wanted Nino to know the truth. He wanted Nino to know everything, because he had been thinking and feeling too much ever since he and Sho got together, and he didn’t have anyone to talk to about it. “Nino, I -”

“I don’t want to hear it.” Nino sounded tired all of a sudden. “Look, what you do, or who you date, is none of my business, okay? But you should’ve told me,” he said, accusingly.

“I know,” Aiba said softly. “I’m sorry.”

“I just can’t deal with this, right now. This whole Sho thing is going to go bad, and you’re going to end up miserable, and I wouldn’t even be able to say ‘I told you so’ because you’re too miserable.”

“Sho’s a good guy!” Aiba insisted. “I know you worry about me a lot, but trust me. He’s not going to hurt me. He’s _not_.”

“Maybe you’re right. Maybe not. I don’t know. I just,” Nino looked exasperated. “I don’t have the energy to be mad at you anymore, but I really can’t stand being around you, either.”

“Nino, I kind of need my best friend right now.”

“Yeah, well, maybe that person is Sho now,” Nino said, a little more harshly than he intended, and left.


	11. Chapter 11

Aiba didn’t show up at the following practice. Nino had messaged everyone to meet up at the studio instead of Saizeriya, and when he walked in to see only Sho and Sugimoto there, he just stood and looked at them questioningly. Sho just shot him a disdained look, while Sugimoto shrugged and mouthed the words, “not coming.” Nino lowered his eyes, knowing that the reason Aiba wasn’t coming was because of him. When he faced his band mates again, he just said, “well, let’s just continue as usual.” Sugimoto proceeded to inform Nino about several changes that Sho wanted to make in the lyrics of their new song, and Nino just said sharply, “do what you want.” 

It wasn’t just Aiba, he thought. Even Sugimoto listened to Sho more. It really got on his nerves. _It’s my band, not his!_ he thought. _Or rather, it’s Aiba’s band. It was Aiba’s idea, after all… and now the idiot doesn’t even care enough to come to practice._

})i({

“Nino.”

Nino turned in surprise when he heard Sho called him. He thought that Sho had left; both he and Sugimoto seemed to be in a hurry to leave practice that day. But apparently Sho hadn’t left yet, or had decided to come back. “What do you want? I told you, you can do whatever you want with the song. I really don’t care.”

“I want to talk about Aiba.”

At another time, Sho might have found it interesting, the way Nino’s temper immediately cooled, and how his gaze on Sho turned icy within moments. But since Nino’s hostility was directed towards him, Sho wasn’t really in the position to appreciate it.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Nino said.

“Yes, there is,” Sho insisted calmly. “You can be angry at me all you want, but please stop hurting Aiba.”

“You’re the one who’s going to hurt him in the end.”

Sho sat next to Nino. “Nino, I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, so I really can’t promise you that I’ll never hurt him. But I can tell you that I like Aiba. I really, really like Aiba.”

“I don’t want to hear it,” Nino snapped. He paused, before adding, “And don’t think I’m not going to beat the crap out of you if you hurt him.”

“You have to know that I will never wish him harm.”

“You think I don’t know that? I know you don’t want to hurt him, but you will. Aiba’s really sensitive,” Nino said, his voice softening.

“I know. That’s why I want you to think about what you’re doing to him now. You’re his best friend, Nino. Aiba needs you right now, maybe more than he’ll ever need me.” Nino looked at Sho, startled by the words, and saw Sho’s wistful look as he said them. He realized that he wasn’t the only one who was jealous of the other.

“Why would he need me? He has you now.” As much as he hated to admit it, he knew now that the reason Aiba had been so distant with him was because he had Sho.

“What I have with Aiba is different from what you have with him,” Sho said quietly. “No one could replace a best friend, Nino. If you were dating right now, would that person be able to replace Aiba?”

Nino hadn’t thought about it that way. “I guess not,” he said grudgingly. He hated Sho, he decided, for being completely reasonable and _right_ all the time. It just figures that the person Aiba would end up falling for would be someone Nino found absolutely irritating. _And yet you were the one who befriended him in the first place_ , he reminded himself. He thought about how lonely Sho seemed at school and how surprised Sho was when Nino first talked to him. He thought about how Sho seemed above everything that was going on in school back then, and how being friends with Nino seemed to make him a little more vulnerable to the other students. Nino felt bad about what he did to Sho, because it was an undeniable fact that by cutting off his friendship with Sho he managed to make Sho more susceptible to the school gossips, but Nino was also annoyed by how stoically Sho took everything, like nothing bothered him at all. “I guess I haven’t been a great friend to you, either,” he commented, knowing that Sho would know that he was trying to apologize.

“I probably deserve it,” Sho said gruffly, accepting his apology. “We should’ve told you from the start.”

“I probably would’ve reacted the same way even if you did,” Nino admitted. “I’m really not the most rational of people when it comes to Aiba.”

“I’ve noticed,” Sho remarked dryly, before continuing in a much more sombre tone, “look, we both care about Aiba a lot. Neither of us wanted to see him hurt. That should put us on the same side… right?”

“I suppose.” Nino stood up, and grabbed his bag. “I’ve got to go.”

Sho frowned at Nino. He wondered if any of the words he said had really registered, when Nino said, “see you at school,” over his shoulder before leaving the studio.

})i({

Aiba hated mathematics. He got better grades for math compared to geography and English, but while he found the other two subjects fascinating, and despite the fact that he understood the concepts he learned in math pretty easily, he still hated math more than any other subject in school. He would usually feign ignorance and get Nino to ‘tutor’ him, while Nino did most of his work, but he couldn’t do that now.

Math reminded him of Nino that evening, and because of that, he hated it even more. He stared at the questions, but the numbers just swam around on the page in front of him, and he couldn’t focus on anything. He wondered if he should have gone to practice that day, because at least it would have meant he would be able to see Sho.

“Nii-chan,” Yusuke called out from the door. “Someone’s here to see you.”

 _Sho!_ Aiba thought immediately, and stood up and turned towards the door with a smile, but was greeted by the sight of his brother and Nino instead. His smile disappearing, he just looked at Nino blankly while Yusuke excused himself and left.

“You missed practice,” Nino said, and winced internally at how harsh he sounded. The fact that Aiba’s smile faltered at the sight of him was already making him feel like the world’s biggest jerk.

“Sorry,” Aiba said. He was just apologizing for missing practice, but for some reason both of them thought that his words felt heavier, as if he was sorry for every single mistake he had made in his life.

“I’m sorry, too,” Nino said, to Aiba’s surprise. “I had a talk with Sho today,” he explained. He sat on Aiba’s bed, and Aiba hesitated, before sitting back down on his chair. “Basically he chewed me out for how I’ve been acting.” 

Aiba remained quiet. 

Unused by such behaviour from his best friend, Nino continued talking to fill in the silence. “I don’t know how you can stand him sometimes,” he complained. “He acts like he knows everything and like he’s right all the time and everyone listens to him, and I know the only reason people treat him the way they do at school is because they all wish they were him, and I can’t stand it! I mean, he’s my friend, but it’s annoying how he acts like he’s Mr. Perfect all the time.”

Aiba chuckled. “Sho-chan’s not perfect,” he said. “He’s really shy, even though he tries so hard to hide it. He doesn’t want anyone to see it either, which is why he tries to act so cool, but really he’s sensitive about what people think about him. He has zero hand-eye coordination,” Aiba continued, “and Ferris wheels freak him out a little.” He smiled to himself, remembering.

Nino watched Aiba’s expression as he talked about Sho, and observed, “You’re in love with him.”

“ _Eh?_ No, I’m not,” Aiba replied automatically, but he was already turning red. “We’ve only started dating.”

Nino grinned. “Nope, you’re definitely in love. Nothing gets past me, you know.” He gave an exaggerated sigh, before continuing, “I guess there’s no helping it. You and Sho are destined to be all lovey-dovey while I play the third wheel, hearing you gush sickeningly about how in love you are.”

“It’s not like that at all,” Aiba said in embarrassment. “I told you, we’re just started dating. I don’t gush about Sho-chan or anything –” he stopped, seeing Nino’s teasing smile. “You’re mean,” he finished, smiling back. “I missed you.” The last words were spoken softly, as if he wasn’t sure if it was something that should be said.

But Nino repeated the words, and for awhile the two boys just sat and grinned at each other, relieved that they were friends again.


	12. Chapter 12

“You guys finally made up.” 

Sho looked up from his book to see Michiyo standing by his desk, smiling at him. He just shrugged, a little embarrassed. He supposed that he and Nino did make up, sort of. Nino was talking to him again, but they were still a little awkward - since they last talked, they seem to have an unspoken agreement not to talk about Aiba with each other. 

“That’s good,” Michiyo continued, as if Sho had answered her. “I’m glad.”

Sho didn’t know what to say to that, but it was okay, because she was already going back to her seat. He thought it was strange that she should care so much about his friendship (or lack thereof) with Nino, when she wasn’t particularly close to either of them. He glanced at Nino, who was looking at him in inquiry.

“You’ve made a friend?” Nino asked lightly.

“I guess.” Sho’s forehead creased as he pondered on Nino’s question. “We’ve only talked a couple of times, so I’m not sure...”

“You don’t have to so serious in answering that,” Nino said, rolling his eyes. “It was just a simple question. “Akita’s cool,” Nino said. “She’s not an airhead like most of the kids here.” Sho just smiled at Nino’s statement and didn’t say anything in reply. Nino wasn’t expecting one anyway, and forged on. “Aiba and I are going out after school today ‘cause we want to check out the new CD store, plus I kind of need to go to Ishibashi to pick up new strings, and we’re meeting up with Sugimoto, Rika and Ai-chan afterwards. Want to come?” 

When Sho hesitated, Nino gave him an exasperated look. “Aiba’s going to be pissed if you didn’t come; he’d think that I told you not to come or something.”

“Are you sure it’s okay?” Despite what he had told Nino, he really didn’t think that Nino would be okay with him and Aiba so quickly.

“I asked, didn’t I?” Nino scowled. “What, do you want a written invitation?”

“Well, now that you’ve mentioned it, it’d be kind of nice,” Sho said, lips lifting in a smirk. 

Playing along, Nino pulled out one of the many pieces of papers stuck between his textbook, and was about to flip it over to write on it, when he noticed what was on the paper. “Hey, we’ve confirmed with Tulane that we’re opening for them at the live at the end of this month, right?”

Sho furrowed his brows in a frown, thinking. “I thought that they said that they _may_ want us, and didn’t confirm afterwards. Since nobody mentioned it, I figured that we’re not doing it.”

“No, no,” Nino said, shaking his head. “We’ve definitely confirmed, I think. They told me a couple of weeks ago that they wanted Red Shift, and I told them we’ll play.”

“You didn’t tell me that,” Sho said.

“I guess I must’ve forgotten to mention it, with everything else that’s been going on,” Nino replied.

“Well, I can’t make that date. I thought we didn’t confirm, and my parents have an important dinner at home that night. They want me to be there.”

“Sho, this is the first time we’ve gotten a chance to play at anywhere other than the Warehouse. We’ve got to do the live!” They had been talking quietly the whole time, but with the last sentence, Nino’s voice rose several octaves higher than his usual speaking voice, causing several classmates to turn towards them.

“Ninomiya, Sakurai. I usually don’t care if you want to talk during free period, but please keep it down, if you could,” their homeroom teacher said lazily, not looking up from the magazine he was reading.

Nino and Sho apologised, and went back to their books. _We’ll continue this later_ , Nino mouthed to Sho.

})i({

They didn’t bring up the subject again until they met up with Aiba, and filled him in about the matter. Aiba just listened, looking obviously upset, and turned to Sho to say, “but we’ve _got_ to do the live!”

“Then you could ask someone else to stand in as a guitarist for just that one live. People have done that before, loads of times.” Sho looked unconcerned, and refused to bend on the subject.

“It’s not the same if it’s not you!” Aiba insisted, and turned to Nino for back up. “Nino, say something!”

“It’s not the same if it’s not you,” Nino intoned obediently.

“Nino!” Aiba’s expression changed from upset to annoyed. “You have to _mean_ it, you know.”

“I dunno,” Nino said slowly. “Sho kind of made sense, there. He does need to go to his parents’ dinner or whatever, and it _was_ my fault for not informing you guys earlier, and it’s true that we could get someone to stand in for him for just one live.”

“You’re not helping at all,” Aiba said, not really listening to Nino. “Sho needs to go to this live, because it’s an important one, plus what if he starts to think that it’s okay to skip lives whenever he wants after this? We’ll need to get replacement Shos all the time and in the end we’ll have to kick Sho out of the band and then...” he paused, before concluding dramatically, “one day when Red Shift is really popular Sho would be all alone thinking sadly, ‘I used to be one of them.’ You don’t want that to happen, do you?”

Nino and Sho were both staring at Aiba. Nino was already chalking up another conversation to his collection of weird Aiba-isms, while Sho was trying not to laugh as he asked, “In this alternative future of yours, are we still together?”

“Of course not,” Aiba said seriously, eyes shooting daggers at Nino and Sho. “The replacement Sho would be so much cooler than you and I’ll probably end up falling for them instead since you’re too busy having dinner _with your parents_.”

Sho couldn’t take it any longer. He laughed loudly, clutching at Nino’s shoulders, while Nino just shook his head and sighed. 

“It’s just my luck to be friends with two crazy idiots,” he commented to no one in particular. 

“You guys are really not taking me seriously!” Aiba was still glaring at them, and Sho stopped laughing. Aiba was really upset, he realised.

“Aiba, it really isn’t a big deal,” he said. “It’s just one live.”

“No, it’s not. It’s our first time opening for a bigger band instead of just playing on Warehouse’s normal roster with five or six other bands in the same night. It _means something_ , and the fact that you don’t want to do it means something else entirely.”

Sho sighed. “It’s not that I don’t _want_ to do it -”

“Forget it,” Aiba snapped at him. “I’m not going to force you if you don’t want to.”

“Aiba,” Nino intervened, “if you just think about it for a minute -”

“You’re supposed to be on my side!” Aiba said to Nino, and threw his hands up in exasperation. “Why don’t you just hang out with him since you guys are getting along so well now?” He stomped away, leaving Sho and Nino to look at each other in bafflement.

“I didn’t think he’d be this mad,” Nino said. “I mean, I was pretty mad when you first told me, even though I’m the one who didn’t inform everyone earlier, but after thinking about it I realise that it’s really not that much of a big deal.”

“Maybe he’ll cool down later, too,” Sho said hopefully.

Nino shook his head. “Aiba doesn’t get angry all that often, but when he does it would only upset him more afterwards and he’d end up feeling downcast for sometime. The last time he was mad at me, he got depressed for a couple of days afterwards. I’m not sure why, but he’s the only person I know who gets upset over getting upset.”

Sho thought about what Nino had told him, and said, “it’s really bad timing, because White Day is coming up and I want to get him something nice, but if he’s like this...”

“Why are you getting him a White Day gift?” Nino asked curiously, before thinking better of it. “Never mind. I don’t think I want to know.”

“Well, he gave me chocolates on Valentines -”

“La la la la la,” Nino sang loudly, putting his hands over his ears in an exaggerated fashion. “ _I don’t want to know._ ”

Sho smiled, and turned his attention back to the bowstring set he and Nino were looking at when they first told Aiba the news. He would call Aiba later to apologise, he decided, and try to reason with him again.

“You know what,” Nino suddenly said. “I think I know what would be a pretty cool White Day present.” He grinned. “It’ll be kind of pricey, but you’ll be able to afford it.”


	13. Chapter 13

Aiba was fuming. As soon as he reached his room he threw his bag in the general direction of his chair. It missed, and fell to the floor instead. Aiba ignored it, and went to his bed to lie down. It really annoyed him to see Nino and Sho arriving together and being really friendly, for some reason. It bugged him that they were fighting one moment and friends again the next, and were acting like they were so close all of a sudden.

When his phone rang, he saw that it was Sho and hesitated, but picked it up in the end. “What do you want?” he asked.

“I just wanted to check if you’re okay.”

“I’m still mad at you, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“I’m really sorry, but I’ve already made a promise with my parents.”

“I told you, do what you want.” He didn’t even really care about the live anymore. He was just mad, which was something he didn’t like at all, and the fact that Sho had made him mad just made him madder.

He heard Sho sigh impatiently, which irked him even more. “Are you free tomorrow?” Sho asked.

“No, I’ve got club activities. I’m meeting you the day after, anyway, right?”

“Um, that’s the thing,” Sho replied. “I kind of have this thing with Nino on that day, so I was hoping that I could see you tomorrow instead...”

Aiba bristled. “Weren’t you the one who said you had to honour earlier promises and all that? Or is it that you just prefer to hang out with Nino than me?”

“It’s not that. It’s just he’s helping me out with something -”

“Forget it. I’ll see you at band practise anyway. Go out with Nino if you want,” Aiba snapped, and hung up.

})i({

Nino picked up the phone at the first ring. “Yeah, Nino here.”

“Okay, I can go the day after tomorrow.” 

“Why do you sound so unsure?”

“Aiba’s mad at me.”

“I thought we’ve already established that.”

“No, I mean, he’s mad at me for cancelling our plans to hang out with you.”

“Wait, you didn’t tell me that you had plans with Aiba! And you told him that you’re going to hang out with me instead?” Nino laughed. “You’re such an idiot; you probably deserve whatever Aiba does to you later.”

Sho frowned. “You were the one who was all mysterious and said we have to go on that day no matter what.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Nino replied carelessly. “Okay, I have an incoming call so I’ll talk to you later.”

As soon as he hung up on Sho and picked up the next call, Aiba’s voice came on.

“What are you and Sho doing the day after tomorrow? Can’t I come?”

Nino grimaced. It was fine to laugh at Sho, but it wasn’t as funny when he was talking to Aiba. “Sorry, Aiba. I can’t really talk about it right now, but Sho is really sorry about cancelling your date.”

“Were you talking with him just now?”

“How’d you know -” Nino paused and looked out his window. Aiba’s blinds were closed at the moment, but he could see a slight silhouette of his friend. “Were you using the binoculars to spy on me?”

“No, I wasn’t!” Aiba burst out indignantly. “Well, maybe, just a little... but it’s your fault for being so secretive!”

Nino gave a long suffering sigh, walked up to his window, and closed his curtains. “I _promise_ I’ll tell you about it later, okay?”

“Why are you closing your curtains?”

“Because I’m going to _change_ , and I’m going to bed, Aiba. Look, just do me a favour and put away those binoculars.”

“Okay. Done. Guess what, today Sugimoto said that Rika is getting a tattoo. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, since it’s Rika, but I’m kind of surprised because I thought she probably had one already? And so he’s going with her today, you know, for moral support.”

“Is that so.” Nino was flipping through a manga with one hand as he listened.

“You don’t sound interested in what I’m saying at all!”

“Aiba, it’s late. I’m tired. Don’t you usually call Sho about this stuff?”

“But I’m mad at Sho right now, plus I want to talk to _you_. How come you don’t want me to go with the two of you? Do you like Sho or something?”

“I thought I’ve already told you that that’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. I don’t even get why _you_ would like him in that way, and to tell the truth, the both of you are annoying me because you’re both talking to me instead of to each other.”

“Sorry,” Aiba said quietly. He realised that he wasn’t really behaving in a manner that would endear him to either Sho or Nino, but he couldn’t help but feel a little crazy at the thought that the two of them were hiding something from him.

“It’s okay. I’m just tired right now. I’ll talk to you later?”

“‘Kay,” Aiba said dejectedly, and hung up.

})i({

Aiba went back to his bed after hanging up, the phone still in his hand. He knew that Nino wouldn’t lie to him, but it seemed like _something_ was going on between his best friend and boyfriend. Nino had pretty much admitted that he was talking to Sho. Aiba had seen Nino laughing when he was on the phone with Sho, and he had seen Nino make a face when Aiba asked about coming along with them to do whatever it was that they wanted to do.

There was only one thing left to do, Aiba decided. If they were going to be secretive about things, then Aiba would have to find out why.

})i({

“Why are we going all the way here to get a _guitar_?” Sho asked. They were in the train heading to Kichijoji, and Sho still had no idea why.

“Because it’s not _any_ guitar,” Nino said. “We’re going to a second-hand shop that opens only once or twice a week, and this week this is the only day it’s open.”

“Okay, so that’s why we had to go today. I get it. But what’s so special about the guitar we’re going to get?”

“Well, the guitar itself isn’t that special. It’s just a normal precision bass, the kind you can get pretty much anywhere. But when we were in junior high we were really crazy about this band - come to think of it, Aiba’s been into bass guitars since then, even if he wasn’t vocal about it - and the owner of this shop is actually a friend of some of the band members. Anyway, this particular bass - this very simple, customised bass - used to belong to their bassist when they were just starting out.”

“Hmm,” Sho murmured, and nodded. “I see. How’d you know about it?”

“We came here when Aiba was getting his bass. One of our seniors at the music club recommended this store and we went to check it out, since he was looking for a second-hand guitar, and he just ended up staring at that sea-green bass the whole time we were there. In the end I had to drag him away, apologise to the shop owner, and take him to Ishibashi where he got the Mavis he’s currently using.”

})i({

Aiba had sat far away from Sho and Nino, so he didn’t hear what they were talking about. They seemed to be in deep conversation, however, and he wondered what it was about. He hated to admit it, but sometimes he felt left out because the two of them went to the same school, and had the same teachers and activities. 

He followed them when they left the train, making sure to maintain a distance, so that they wouldn’t notice him. When they entered the shop that he recognised, he was surprised. Why did Nino keep it a secret, if he was just introducing Sho to a store? He remembered the beautiful bass that he had seen there, and felt longing stir within him, but he thought that it was probably sold by now. He didn’t know how long he waited before Sho and Nino emerged from the store, grinning. Sho had a guitar case with him that he definitely didn’t have before, so Aiba knew that he had bought something. Aiba was wondering again why they had kept quiet about where they were going, when Sho noticed him.

“Aiba, what are you doing here?”

Aiba looked back at Sho, an equally surprised look on his face. He had forgotten to stay out of sight while waiting for the two to come out. Nino just looked resigned. 

“Obviously, he decided to follow us to see where we were going.” He suddenly broke into a grin. “I’ll leave you guys alone; I need to get back early, anyway.”

He left, leaving Aiba and Sho to stare at each other.

“You bought a guitar,” Aiba finally said lamely.

“Oh. Yeah, I did.” Sho held the guitar case out. “It’s for you, actually.”

“What?” Aiba accepted the guitar automatically, but didn’t quite process what Sho was saying. “Why are you giving me a guitar?”

Sho looked down in embarrassment. “It’s White Day,” he mumbled.

Aiba blinked at him. He had completely forgotten about White Day. “You got me a guitar for White Day,” he repeated blankly.

“It was Nino’s idea!” Sho said defensively. It seemed like a stupid idea to him now. _Was it too much, to give something so big?_ he wondered. 

“Is it that sea-green precision bass I wanted?”

“Yeah.” Sho cringed internally. Why couldn’t he get Aiba something more normal? “It’s a bit much, isn’t it,” he mumbled, still looking down.

“It is, a bit,” Aiba agreed in a solemn voice. He didn’t know what to do with Sho’s earnestness sometimes. It was really sweet, and it touched him, but at the same time, it made him want to laugh, because surely Sho could have thought of easier things to do. “It’s very like you, though. Trying too hard and ending up doing something that is... I don’t know. Stupid, kind of? You could’ve just taken me out on a date today instead of sneaking around with Nino. That would’ve been plenty romantic. But I guess that’s what I like about you.” 

Sho looked up at those words, and saw that Aiba was grinning. “Nino only got you to get me that guitar,” Aiba continued, “because he promised to get it for me on my next birthday, and now he doesn’t have to. Plus it’s his way of telling me that he’s okay with us being together... I think.”

“So... you’re not mad at me anymore?” Sho asked.

“Oh, I’m sure I’ll be mad again later, but right now I can’t quite seem to manage it.” Aiba closed the distance between them and hugged Sho. “Relax,” he said teasingly, as Sho protested. “Friends hug each other all the time. Especially when their friends give them a guitar.”

“You’re bad for my health,” Sho muttered, thinking about how his heartbeat was rapidly increasing. He relented, though, and leaned closer to breathe Aiba in. “I’ll play at the live, if you really want me to,” he said, when he finally pulled away.

“That’s okay,” Aiba replied, and held up the guitar case. “You should keep your promises, you know. Plus, I’ll be too excited playing my brand new used bass to think of you,” he added jokingly, and Sho smiled. It was at that moment when he thought that perhaps Nino was right, perhaps he _was_ truly falling for Sho, but he decided not to say anything yet. After all, they were only at the beginning of their story.

As they walked towards the station together, chatting about the impending live and what it would mean for the band, and making grandiose plans for Red Shift’s future, Aiba realised that he was feeling perfectly content and at ease. He glanced at Sho, who was talking animatedly on the subject of tattoos - he had just told Sho about Rika - and thought that he wanted to know this person even after many years had passed, and found himself wishing that their story would be a long and happy one.


End file.
